In a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) complying with the IEEE 802.11b standard, available frequencies and maximum transmission power vary from country to country. Accordingly, a user using a computer with a wireless LAN function, when moving from one country to another, has to configure settings of the computer to comply with standards of the country to which the user has moved.
JP2003-111123A and JP2004-179826A disclose a device for automatically configuring such settings. In the device, a country in which the device is located is identified using a GPS (Global Positioning System), and a frequency to be used and maximum transmission power are automatically set according to the identified country.
JP2002-247646A discloses, instead of using a GPS to identify a country in which a device is located, a technique of using an MCC (Mobile Country Code) transmitted from a base station of a mobile communication network. If the technique is used instead of a GPS, since a radio wave used in a mobile communication network can be received inside a building in contrast with a radio wave used in a GPS, it is possible to identify a country if the device is located indoors, and to configure settings according to the identified country.
If an MCC transmitted from a base station of a mobile communication network is used to identify a country, a device located near a border may receive a radio wave sent from a base station located in one country and a radio wave sent from a base station located in another country. In such a case, since two MCCs are received from two countries, it is difficult to identify a country in which the device is located, using an MCC. Accordingly, it is difficult to configure wireless LAN settings according to a country in which the device is located.
The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and provides a technique for, if a device capable of performing wireless communication is located near a border between two countries, enabling the device to configure communication settings in compliance with standards of countries adjacent to the border.